This is Hairball. I have used him more than any of my other cats in challenges so I expect that many people will know he is mine. This was a tough shot as whenever I called him to look at me he would start walking over to me. I kept tossing him away and then shooting real fast. This was one of his rare still moments.
Aimee doesnt think this image will do great (low 6 but not much more). I think it has the potential to be a mid 6. I liek the colors, pose and the fact that it really looks like a posed portrait rather than a caught candid. I know cat shots didnt do well in the last Pet Portrait challenge but I am hoping I can dodge that bullet.
Shot in my backyard. PP - RAW conversion with the usual stuff. In PS - levels, spot saturation, masked out leaves on multiple layers and tweaked leaf color individually, gaussian blur on background, alot of dodging and burning, selective colors, USM and NI, resize for web and border.
Post-Challenge - WOW! Never would I have thought I could get a score like this! Thank you all for a really fun week of update button hitting and comment reading. Consider this to be my final day of the 30 Days of Pet Portraits. And a big shout out to yanko. His shot was better IMO.
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 378 Avg (all users): 7.6115 Avg (commenters): 8.2979 Avg (participants): 7.4571 Avg (non-participants): 7.7681 Views since voting: 26782 Views during voting: 536 Votes: 278 Comments: 122 Favorites: 78 (view)
i always seem to find this photo when im looking through the photos on this site. it finds me it seems. i think i shall add it as a fav, its a beautiful photo
Tim, I remember when your Top 5 had kermit and Q-tips, you have come along way to finally have all 7's in your Top 5! Congrats on your blue ribbon!
Joe
d00d! Suhweet! What beautiful colours, and the composition from head to tail is perfecto. Congrats on your new Personal Best and another Blue. Way to go!
Tim!!! Wow!!! 7.6!! I am in awe! Course this totally deserves a 7.6! Congratulations on this aMAZING photo! It's so nice to see kitties get their proper place in these awards! :)
And tee hee. . .Aimee you sound just like my husband about my cat :)
Great...now I can't even escape this stupid cat when I go to DPC land! There should be some sort of law against this! Stupidcatstupidcatstupidcat.....I mean congratulations on your very well deserved ribbon (bleh).
Congratulations! this is a great photo and your ribbon is well deserved. Beautiful cat as well. I also see you managed to dodge the 'trolls' no votes with 1 or 2.
Absolutely gorgeous. I didn't vote this challenge... stunning composition, gorgeous beastie, love the autumnal leaves and general hues.Congratulations!!
"Is the photo shoot almost over? I need to catch my flight to Milan! Claudia Schiffer & Iman won't wait forever :) Great Portrait! Fine clarity! Good Job! :)
9 - Very nice. Very nice scene and colors. Just wonder about with the space either side of the cat whether a fraction more above the head would have visually balanced this out even better, but then the cat would be smaller, so who knows. Otherwise, maybe just a little tighter either side. Again, white framing works well, but at this size, I'd just like to have seen the cat bigger. Difficult, but more detail discernible in the cat too.
This has to be my favorite shot of the whole challenge. I love the colorful leaves adding a really fall feeling to the photo. Nice composition without centering the cat. Great detail...definately a 10 from me!
Lovely shot but I can't get past the fact that this is the most annoying cat in the world. Sorry to dock you for subject matter. I'm always picking his hairs out of my eyes and he is always drinking out of my water glass. How gross is that? Stupid cat! I can only muster an 8.
This photo is great because of the post processing. The colors really pop. However, when one starts to post process you must watch out for taking it too far in some areas. This is one where the eyes are just too sharp for this resolution. I give points for the post for the colors, yet take the same points away for the oversharpened eyes. I give it the same score even if there was no post, a high 7. If the eyes weren't overdone, it would have probably been my favorite with a 8 or 9. Great photo overall, highly recommended. Marking as a favorite for the whole concept and to give me ideas in the future.
I really like this shot a lot. I love the autumn leaves on the ground for their extra color, and I like the direct stare into the camera. Very cute kitty. Great DOF to give a sense of the environment, but not in focus enough to draw attention from the subject.
A Coon Cat I believe? If so then this autumn backdrop is really perfect for it invokes the idea of a wild animal (think raccoon) in it's wooded habitat. Even if not this portrait is still striking. The colors and textures are rich. And the lighting is spot on that we can appreciate all the lovely details of the cat and it's surroundings. The cat is also perfectly posed with those eyes firmly staring at us when we, the viewer, stare back at this magnificent cat.
Fall Feline
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Tim - it was well-deserved!
